Metal-depositing apparatus.



J. K. REYNARD.

Y METALl DBPOSITING lAPARATUS. n rmouon FILED rma.14, 190s.

Patented July 2'?,v 1909.

' A W7 'NESSES:

Lk@in 'ATTORNEYS JAMES K. REYNARD, or EASTv ELMnuRsT, NEW YORK.

- METAL-DEIOSITING APPARTUS.

No. 929,o17.

yApplication led FebruarvM, 1906. SerialNo. 301,016.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES K. REYNARD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Elmhurst, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Metal-Depositing Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a full,

` clear, and exact description.

-This invention relates to the treating of phonograph records. It has been found that the. distinctness of the sound produced by these records is much increased by deposit ing upon .the wax a fine layer or filmv of metal previous to electro-plating. The metal preferably used `for' this purpose is gold. 0n account of the great cost of gold,

it is desirable that all waste should be made as small .as pbssible.

. rlhe object of this'invention is toreduce ythe consumption of gold and to im rove the construction of the arrangement or rotating the record, while preserving a perfect seal for the vacuum chamber in which the depositing 4operation takes place.

The invention consists in the construction of apparatus to be described morev fully hereinafterA and particularly set forth in the claims. 'Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar characters of refer-l ence indicate corresponding parts? in the view.

1n the drawing, 1 represents a base-plate, which may bea piece ofjplate glass, upon which there is set a bell jar 2. of common form, within which a partial vacuum .may be produced by withdrawing the air through a suitable stop cock 3 passing through the plate 1. Preferably near its center the plate 1 is provided with an opening 4l through which-passes a-sleeve 5 which projects upwardly into the interior of the.- bell jar and is threaded towreceive a nut 6, as shown. The lower end of this sleeve 5 is formed with a head 7 which lclamps against the under face of the plate, a suitable washer S being provi-ded at this point to insure that an air-tightjoint will be made. If necessary, to preserve the vacuum within thebell' jar, the lower edge of the bell jar willbe suitably sealed at the point 'where itrests upon the plate. The sleeve 5 is formedwith a central bore .-9 through which assesnpwardlyagstem 10, the said stem ein@ .provided with a collar 11 forming alball-'bearspecificati@ of Letters Patent.

-Patented Juiya?, 1h09.

ing 12 with the upper extremity of theisleeve 5. In this'way the sleeve operates to support the stem 10. Upon the upper extremity -the bottom of the cupas indicated. rlhe l lower extremity7 of the stem 10 is provided with a 'small pulley .16 which enables the stem to.be rotated by means of a belt 17 passing around the pulley, aswill bel readily understood. In the cup 1.5 I place a sealing fluid 18 which isipreferably a heavy or viscous oil such as castor oil or vaseline. Frein this arrangement it should beA understood that it becomes impossible for air to pass y upwardly through the bore 9 so as to break the high vacuum existing under the bell jar.

On opposite sides of the center oi" the plate l. preferably at equal distances from the' stein 10; l provide standards 19 preferably yconsisting of glass tubes, having sealed extremities, the same being secured in position by means of supportsQO of cork or similar material, which are received in the openings 21, formed in the plate 1. With this arrangement the standards l) may be easily removed. rlfhrough the interior of the tubes or standards 19 wires 22 pass, thcr platisame being preferably composed of num. These wires emerge at their upper extremities and are bent so as to form substantially horizontal 'arms 23, projecting in a similar insulator suspended from the arms 23. The wires 22 are placed in an electric,

record,- l provide shields or screens '26 preferably consisting of strips of mica glass or' circuit 27 which carries 'an alternating rcurf rent of high voltage developed by a generator 28 `or' suitable form. lltfshould bef-f les the record 14 upon 'which'the stylus 0 1? the phonograph has described its path, vas set understood that in the deposit-ingoperation,A

upon the disk 13l and rotated continuously.

At the same time, analt-ernating current is A 4generated in the circuit 27 so that an alternating discharge takes place betweenl the metal strips 25 which constitiite terminals.

This discharge has the eiieet ot' depositing gold upon the outer surface of the record. .Xt'ter a sulicient film of gold has been de posited in this way, the recordsI are removed and can then be electro-plated. The deposited metal ihn being a good conductor, facilitates the electro-plating process. The screens 26 have the eii'ect of cutting ott' the discharge from the terminals or cathodcs 25 which would otherwise pass in their direction. In this way the waste of the metal or gold is reduced by about one-half` While the etliciency of the depositing apparatus is in no way diminished. I prefer to place the screens 26 in the dark space near the cathodes as they seem most effective at this point. .Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and des-irc to secure b v Letters Patent,-

l. In apparatus ot' the class described. a vacuum chamber having a bottom with au opening, a rotatable stem passing downwardly from the interior of said chamber and adapted to support a record` and a cup on said stem containing a iuid sealing Said opening. l

Q. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a plate having a vacuum chamber formed thereabove. a sleeve mounted in said plate and projecting therebelow,` said sleeve having a bore, a stein rotatable in' said bore. and having means for supporting a record thereabove. a cup carried by said stein and having a viscous sealing fluid covering the lower extremity of said sleeve.

In .testimony nhereotl I have signed my naine to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES K.. REYNA-XRD.

Witnesses:

F. I). Aiuti-1N. Evan-un) B. Miuzsiriuit.. 

